The Pictorial Perks of the Job

I lalalalove it when people send me pictures of the projects they have made after being inspired by my blog, book or even an episode of Craft Lab or Stylelicious. These pictorial perks occasionally gracing my email inbox make all the crafty tutorials worthwhile.

Amaretto Girl was not only kind enough to write a review of my book The Naughty Secretary Club: The Working Girls Guide to Handmade Jewelry she also made her own fun version of The Secretary’s Bouquet Bracelet.


Wahine Bernie sent me a Tweet to let me know she had whipped up her own rendition of the Whistle at Work Necklace. I love that her gnomes are holding snack foods rather than flowers. They must have worked up an appetite from all that whistling and working.


Mary Kathryn thought my cupcake topper necklaces were the perfect accessory for her friend’s party. I want to go to a party where there are cupcakes and free jewelry.



If you have ever made any Naughty Secretary Club inspired projects it sure would make me feel all warm ans squishy to see them.

Baby Clothes Couture

Tallulah and I love it when grandma comes to visit. Not only are all the meals free, but Tallulah ends up with a new wardrobe and I have tons of new craft ideas and projects started. Just this weekend we have 3 new items of awesomeness. Now only if it was not too hot to take Tallulah outside where other people could actually see these outfits in action.

This little ruffle bottom sunsuit has a front and a back picture, because both are adorable! My mom actually first made a dress out of this material that was too small for Tallulah and had to be passed down to my friend Vickie's daughter Clover. We are planning a photoshoot this week to get a group shot of the girls in their coordinating outfits!


The purple fabric is vintage, so is the pattern for that matter. I am also in love with purple and orange as a color combo lately.

This is the second Hanky Dress my mom has made Tallulah. I don't want to reveal too much because we have a how-to project for the dress coming up soon on the blog. Just wanted to give you a sneak peak of her new Texas version!


Another perk of my mom coming to visit is that she always arrives bearing gifts. This time it was a huge stack of 60's and 70's fabric. I fell in love with this navy material with neon green and pink and insisted she whip something up in it. I covered the buttons :)


Sad to see mom go back to Dallas, but can't wait for her to come stay a week in August. Just imagine what we will get done!

Crafty Carnival

About Family Crafts
What are your cleaning tips for crafting with kids? Please take a moment to share your tips and then browse through tips shared by others.

Aileen's Musings
Hard as it was, Aileen has narrowed down the playing field and needs your help again to choose from her favorite sayings that have been posted for her blog giveway! Stop by and pick your favorite.

Cathie Filian
If you are wondering what to eat, craft and play on the 4th of July then head over to Cathie's blog for ideas.

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world
This week at Craftside you can watch the latest Look, Learn & Create video that includes tips on drawing, two techniques and projects for cutting photos up, a bit of fabric eye candy, and a free paper stencil and project from the new book The Art of Decorative Paper Stencils 2 and if you leave answers to the day's questions you are entered to win free books!

Crafty Princess Diaries
Tammy uses her jewelry making skills to create some beautiful and functional stitch markers.

CraftyPod
Sister Diane reviews an intriguing new book: Micro Macrame, by Annika DeGroot

Cross Stitch at About.com
Work at Your Own Pace - An encounter with a critter in the yard has Connie thinking about Cross Stitch (imagine that!) and speed.

Mixed Media Artist
Have you been wondering what happened to "Layers Upon Layers"? Cyndi's still hard at work, but has moved to "Mixed Media Artist". This week she's got a a round-up of fabric painting ideas for you!

Naughty Secretary Club
Arty Masterpieces are overrated, it's all about the Glittery Crafterpieces! Take a peek at the handmade art around my house and try your hand at making a fun glittery deer picture!

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery
See how to make a card and card album themed for a rock and roll mom to be that uses cute die cuts in a cool way.

The Artful Crafter
“Panadieres for Zambia” is a neat story and one small example of crafters helping crafters – all around the world. As Eileen likes to say, “Crafters are just the nicest people.”

The Crochet Dude
Read Drew's first installment supporting the 3/50 grassroots project!

The Impatient Crafter
Madge shares a technique in this post about embossing on slick surfaces!

Vickie Howell-Craft.Rock.Love
Keep your kids busy this summer by setting up a Crafty Challenge for them!

I Love to Create: Who Needs an Arty Masterpiece When You Could Have a Glittery Crafterpiece!

This week I had my house filmed for an installment of the Etsy series There is No Place Like Here. I’ll keep you posted on when it airs. As I walked through the house narrating everything for the cameraman I started noticing all the “art” (I’m using this term loosely) I had around the house that I had made using little more than glue and decopauge. Super easy projects, that I think look super fun. Today for I Love to Create I’m going to give you a mini tour of some of these pictures around my casa and show you how to make your own glittery fawn portrait.



Speaking of glitter, I owe everything I know to the Crafty Chica. This is a shadow box that my husband Chris made on an episode of Craft Lab when Kathy Cano Murillo was the guest.


The latest addition to my bedroom was made my simply framing some scrapbook paper and using a little Liquid Fusion glue to attach the toy pirate to the glass of the frame.


Also in my bedroom is the very first craft project Chris and I made together, shell & plastic sea life covered picture frames. We made these to enhance our pictures taken at the Texas State Aquarium. Wow this glue job has held up for over 10 years!


Across the hall in the spare bedroom a Floral Fro sits on a bedside table.


On the otherside sits a piece of art that I made when my friend Traci Bautista came to visit.


One of my favorite ways to frame a picture is just to simply decopauge the image to the lens of a pair of vintage eyeglasses.


Most times to make art for your house you don’t even have to lift a paintbrush. Feeling inspired and thinking you might want to make your own one of a kind crafterpiece (get it like masterpiece) for your digs? Well read on and grab your glitter.

SUPPLIES
Tulip Fashion Glitter Gold
Silhouette of Deer (or anything you want)
Scrap booking paper (I used Martha Stewart brand)
Embellishments like vintage costume jewelry
Liquid Fusion Glue
Picture Frame
Aleene’s Crystal Clear Tacky Spray Glue
Scissors


DEERY ME
Once you have gathered your crafting supplies, decide on which animal you are going to use. You might remember from my post Fawning Over Fawns that my daughter’s middle name is Fawn so that is the animal I opted for. Choose any animal you like look for a picture of that animal in profile that can easily be traced and transformed into a silhouette. Print your image out on cardstock and cut out with scissors.


GLITTERLISCIOUS
Take your deer silhouette outside and lightly coat with Tacky Spray. While the glue is still wet cover with gold glitter. While the glue is drying trim your background paper to fit inside the picture frame. Again I opted for a wood grain paper in gold and aqua by Martha Stewart that I thought kept up with the golden forest theme I was going for.


GET FRAMED
I found my picture frame at the thrift store and what I loved about it was that it had a 3D effect. This allowed me to adorn it a bit. Using Liquid Fusion Glue I adhered a vintage gold metal flower pin to one corner. Also using Liquid Fusion I added a solo clip earring in aqua I had to the center.


PULLING IT TOGETHER
Once the glue and glitter have dried on your fawn use more Tacky Spray on the back of the deer to adhere it to your wood grain scrap booking paper. Put the picture inside your frame and set on a shelf and admire. The whole thing took less than an hour and was done with a 4 month old baby on hand so anyone can do this project!

Noteworthy Nocturnal Nuggets

I feel like a total slack for not blogging this week but I have good excuses. My father-in-law was visiting, I was filmed for Etsy’s There’s No Place Like Here which meant lot’s of house cleaning and my mom is coming tomorrow. That being the case instead of a real blog I decided to knock off Doe-c-Doe and scan in a few vintage cards and notepads I have thrifted lately. The kind of things you might find in say a pack of Crafty Collage Curios. I promise to think of something fun for tomorrow’s installment of I Love to Create and be back with blogging vengeance. Today is going to be 104, what else do I have to do but sit inside and craft.







How bad do you wish that sewing themed font was available for your computer?

I Love to Create: Celebrate Father's Day with a 6 Pack of Daddy's Dark Ale

Let’s face it being a new dad is hard work. After staying up all night because of a crying baby and going to work all day to pay the bills, daddy deserves an ice cold beer. As a special Father’s Day treat Tallulah and I made sure it was not just any beer daddy relaxed with. This Father’s Day we transformed a boring 6 pack of Lone Star into a 6 pack of personalized Daddy’s Dark Ale, complete with daddy and baby pictures. Have you waited until the last minute to get the daddy in your life something special for this Sunday’s big festivities? No worries, we have all the instructions on how to customize your own 6 pack on this week’s episode of I Love to Create.



SUPPLIES
6 pack of beer
Soap and water
Collage Pauge Instant Decoupage
Aleene’s Crystal Clear Tacky Spray
Crafty Chica Little Chica Paint Packs
Sponge Brush
Aleene's Paper Glaze
Tulip Skull Stencil
Printer
Computer
Shiny Computer Paper
Laser Copier (printer)
6 Photographs
Scissors
Fiskars Oval Shaped Templates
Petit Pattern Book (Pop and Modern)



PREP
As much as I love the labels on Lonestar, in order for our beer to be custom they had to go. I soaked the beer in my kitchen sink in some warm soapy water for about 30 minutes. The labels peeled right off.



PICTURES
Tallulah and I chose 6 of our favorite daddy and daughter protraits to adorn our beer bottles with. We printed those out on shiny printer paper, but had to make a run to Kinkos. My printer is ink jet and decopauge will make your ink run so I needed to make copies. Using my Fiskars Oval template I cut out 6 pictures to use, Tallulah wanted to play with the scissors but I told her this was a job better suited for mom.



LABELS
Lucky for me I have a fun series of books called the Petit Pattern Books. Tons of cute background patterns to choose from and they all come on a disk. I made a masculine looking background for my beer labels using camo colors. I also decided to name the beer Daddy’s Dark Ale. I told Tallulah to blow spit bubbles if she agreed with the name and the drool was flowing so it was unanimous. I also had to take the pictures to Kinkos so that laser copies could be made. Workable Fixative could be used instead.



DECOUPAGE
Using my Collage Pauge I attached my new labels to the beer bottles. I allowed these to dry completely and then I came back and covered them with Aleene’s Paper Glaze.



6 PACK CARTON
The packaging is everything so Tallulah and I decided to go ahead and customize the 6 pack carton as well. Using black paint and a sponge brush I applied two coats of paint to the carton. Unfortunately, Tallulah decided she was hungry mid paint job so mommy got a little paint on her new polka dotted cherry dress. Once the paint was dry and Tallulah was full I went back in and mixed white, green and black paint to get an army green color. I used a sticky fabric stencil on each end of the 6 pack and using my sponge brush applied the paint. The sticky pulled up some of the black paint leaving white lines, but honestly we thought it looked cool so we left it alone.



FINISHING TOUCHES
When the paint dried completely I took the 6 pack carton outside and using Aleene’s Crystal Clear Spray (AKA my new favorite glue) I adhered my custom label to either side of the beer carton. It was 100 degrees outside and the glue is a little stinky so I let Tallulah watch this step through the window as she relaxed in the AC and her bouncy chair.



All that is left to be done is to chill the beer. Speaking of chilling I recommend the fridge and not a cooler full of ice. The perfect Father’s Day gift is born. Now we just have to tell dad he can’t read my blog until Sunday.

Family Portraits

This being my first Mothers Day as a mother and Chris's first Father's Day as a father, I decided to start a family tradition. From here on out every Mother's/Father's Day I am hoping to acquire a family portrait. No, not the kind where we all get dressed in our Sunday's best, load up in the station wagon and head down to Olan Mills. I was thinking something a little more exciting. Something like an illustration of my new little family. Turns out the hardest part about making my dream a reality was choosing which artist to commission and agreeing with Chris about it. After all, portraits can be pricey so we opted to split the cost making this a yearly Mother's/Father's Day gift. After much deliberation we opted to have our fist annual portrait done by Sofie Igelström of Demofia.



I made Chris promise that next year we could get one by Ashley Goldenberg of Ashley G. After that the possibilities for artists are endless.



1) Ashley G
2) Tuesday Mourning
3)Demofia.
4) The Velcro Shoes



1) Sensible Design Studio
2) Ismoyo Etsy Playground
3) Amy Perrotti
4) (Listing was expired)



1) House of Harriet
2) Emily Fate's Goodies
3) JT's Workshop
4) Sewing Mama

I plan on having the portraits printed on blank cards that we can use as thank you notes and such. When Tallulah is 12 we can have calendars printed up for all the grandparents. Maybe I will get the image printed on a coffee mug for relatives at Christmas, God knows Cafe Press has a bazillion options. Gives the portrait more bang for the buck.

What did you get or give for Mother's Day? Any Father's Day gift ideas?

Save the Assistants Interview

Have 10 minutes to kill? Pop over to a fun website called Save the Assistants to read an interview with little ole me where I reveal stories about the time my boss tore me a new A-hole and what Cure song almost became the name of my website instead of Naughty Secretary Club.

Also in the news recently....

2 of our necklaces are featured on Cozy Wallet.

Deep Fried Outdoor Inspiration on Apartment Therapy.

Time for the Letter C on Pin Triangle, including Craft Lab.

Tardy Bracelet on This Next.

My Terrarium Roundup on Etsy got 92 comments!

Amarettogirl Craft Book Review- The Naughty Secretary Club: The Working Girls Guide to Handmade Jewelry by Jennifer Perkins.

Crafty Carnival

About Family Crafts
Check out photos of home-made Father's Day cards and submit your own photos to this gallery.

Aileen's Musings
Aileen offers you another printable freebie...a word sheet for you to download and use in your art . . .

Alexa Westerfield a.k.a. Swelldesigner
Alexa shares several craft projects that she has every intention of eventually making.

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world
Craftside has the latest episode of Look, Learn & Create featuring William F. Powell showing us some great methods of mixing paint colors, and there is an explanation of the different types of clay, how to plan a business, draw an outline for an illuminated letter, and finally how-to's for beading and embellishing filigree jewelry from Karen and Ann Mitchell.

Crafty Princess Diaries
Have you heard of the book Weekend Sewing? Tammy offers some tips for making copies of the patterns in this new book by Heather Ross.

CraftyPod
Sister Diane's latest podcast is all about how to write a great craft blog.

Cross Stitch at About.com
An unsettling project has Connie in a contemplative mood. What do you think of this project?

Mixed Media Artist
Let's do the twist! Cyndi demonstrates a fun way to paint fabrics with a surprise ending.

Naughty Secretary Club
Jen gets crafty with wallpaper! A review, how-to project and contest to win a copy of Wallpaper Projects.

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery
Modern Sweater Surgery Toilet Paper Cozy Inspired by the new book- Felt Furnishings by Anne Kyyro Quinn

The Artful Crafter
Eileen helps a reader who needs to start her Christmas crafting early with instructions for a beaded glow-in-the-dark star ornament.

The Impatient Crafter
Ranger has a three day intensive university and Madge has the 411 after spending a weekend getting fully certified! Inky and crafty goodness was enjoyed by all!

I Love to Create: Wallpaper Books, Crafting & Contests!

Just because I don’t have wallpaper on a single wall in my house, does not mean I can’t appreciate it. Wallpaper has for years gotten a bad rap and was until recently considered a home decorating faux pas, but those days are over. Not only is it hip with the kids to use wallpaper on walls, some clever folks are bringing it to the craft world. Those clever people would be Derek Fagerstrom and Lauren Smith authors of the new fabu book Wallpaper Projects: More Than 50 Craft and Design Ideas for Your Home, From Accents to Art. Craft enthusiasts might recognize the pair as the owners of the Curiosity Shoppe in San Francisco and Derek as the projects editor at ReadyMade Magazine. Given their impeccable crafty background I knew this new lush looking book from Chronicle was going to be good and I was right.



The projects in the book range from bracelets to headboards and that is probably why I like it so much, that and the fact that nothing appears overly complicated. There are not many projects you couldn’t conquer with some wallpaper and Tacky Glue. Though I’m still not ready to make the full commitment to wallpaper on an actual wall - covering a cabinet, table or door panel seems a lot less daunting. Lucky me I also happen to have a small stash of vintage wallpaper. I have been looking for just the right project and several of the ideas in Wallpaper Projects seem worthy.



Today for I Love to Create I am going to attempt the Covered Canisters. A quick trip to the thrift store supplied me with more than enough cheap tins to get started. One of my rolls of wallpaper is for a little boy’s room depicting various race cars. Perfect my friend Noelle who is expecting a little boy any day now. I needed the perfect container to deliver her congratulations cookies in!



Read on see how to make your own wallpaper covered tin and to win your very own copy of Wallpaper Projects: More Than 50 Craft and Design Ideas for Your Home, From Accents to Art!



SUPPLIES:
Aleene’s Crystal Clear Tacky Spray
Aleene’s Tacky Glue
Cookie Tin
Wallpaper
Ribbon
Measuring Tape
Ruler
Pencil
Scissors


If you are blessed to be without a plethora of ugly canisters that once held Boy Scout Candies and Christmas Cookies a quick trip to the thrift store will get you all stocked up on supplies.


Choose your wallpaper wisely. You can find wallpaper online, at the thrift store, flea markets and most obviously at the wallpaper store. Wallpaper is great for crafting because it is made to be pretty resistant to wear and tear.


Once you have chosen the perfect tin and just the right wall paper it's time to measure twice and cut once as my father-in-law would say. You need enough wallpaper to cover the circumference of your tin. Next trace the lid of your tin onto the wallpaper as well. Cut out both.


Take your wallpaper and tins outside for a little spray glue action. Apply an even layer of Aleene’s Crystal Clear Tacky Spray to the backside of your paper and wrap around your tin, smoothing as you go. Do the same thing with the circle of wallpaper you cut out for the lid.


Next you might notice the edge of the lid is still showing. Also in my case the bottom and top edges of the tin were a little uneven and there was a seam in the back where the wallpaper was not wide enough to overlap or touch. Here is where the ribbon and tacky glue comes in.


Measure enough coordinating ribbon to go around the edge of your lid and any other problem areas you need to hide. Using Aleene's Original Tacky Glue adhere your ribbon into place.


Allow everything to dry completely, fill your tin with homemade cookies, deliver to new family and make everyone happy!

Think you might like to try your hand at some wallpaper crafting? Well we have one copy of Wallpaper Projects to giveaway! All you have to do is leave us a wallpaper related comment. Do any wallpaper crafting? Did your room as a child have rad 70's wallpaper that you lament about? Would you hang wallpaper in your house? Give me the deets and I might give you the book. You have until next Thursday to enter!

Suggested Wallpaper Goodness:
Silhouette Art - Wallpaper dog project from the book.
Fondue - The cutest home decor items you have ever seen made with wallpaper (don't forget Fondue Jr. for the wee ones)
Wallpaper from hell (or heaven): Patterns in Household Design - A Flickr pool all about the wallpaper!